have you ever wondered how man came into existence? you will probably say, "everyone has a mother and father." but that answer is inadequate. after all, it does not explain how the first mother and father, that is, the first man, came into being. you will most probably have heard some stories on this subject at school or from people around you. yet the only accurate answer is that it is allah who created you. we will dwell on this issue in detail in the coming chapters. for now, there is one thing we must all know; the first human being who appeared on earth was the prophet adam, peace be upon him. all human beings are descended from him.

adam, peace be upon him, was, just like us, a man who walked, talked, prayed and worshipped allah. allah first created him and then his wife. then their children spread all over the world.

never forget that allah only needs to give a command in order to create. when he wishes something to be, he gives the command "be!" and it comes into being. he has enough power to do anything. for example, he created adam from clay. this is easy for allah.

however, never forget that there are also people who deny allah's existence. these people give other answers to the question of how people came into existence. they do not search for the truth.

if a cartoon character said, "i came into existence when ink was spilt on the paper by chance. the paints were also spilt by chance and formed the colours. that is to say, i do not need anyone to draw my picture or shape me. i can come into being myself, by chance," you would surely not take it seriously. you know that the perfect lines, colours and actions in cartoons cannot be formed by randomly spilling paint here and there, since knocking over an ink bottle only makes a mess; it never forms a fine picture made up of regular lines. for something meaningful and with a purpose to come into being, someone has to think about it, design it and draw it.

to understand all this, you do not need to see the artist and the painter. you automatically understand that the cartoonist has given this character its attributes, shapes and colours, and the faculty of speaking, walking or jumping. after this example, think seriously about the following: someone who does not accept that allah created him is also lying, just like that cartoon character. now let's assume that such a person talks to us. let's see how this man tries to explain how he and everyone else came into existence:

"i, my mother, father, their parents and the very first parents who lived from time immemorial all came into existence by chance. coincidences created our bodies, eyes, ears and all organs." these words of this man, who denies that allah created him, are very much like the words of the cartoon character. the only difference is that the character is made up of lines and paint on a sheet of paper. the person who utters these words, on the other hand, is a man made up of cells. but does this make any difference? isn't the man who utters these words a highly complex organism more perfect than the cartoon character? doesn't he have more organs? in other words, if it is impossible for a cartoon character to come into being by chance, then it is even more unlikely for this man to have come into being by chance. now, let's ask this man the following question: "you have a very wonderful body that functions flawlessly. your hands can hold objects with great delicacy—much better than the most developed machines. you can run on your feet. you have perfect eyesight, sharper than the highest quality cameras. you never hear a hissing sound in your ears; no hi-fi can produce such a clear sound. many organs of which you are unaware work together to keep you alive. for instance, although you have no control whatsoever over the functioning of your heart, kidneys or liver, they continually operate flawlessly. today, hundreds of scientists and engineers are working strenuously to design machines similar to these organs. however, their efforts have achieved nothing. that is to say, you are a flawless creature, the like of which cannot be manufactured by man. how doyou account for all this?"

the man who denies that allah creates these things will probably say: "i also know that we have a flawless body and perfect organs. but i believe in the following: inanimate and unconscious atoms came together by coincidence to form our organs and bodies."

you will doubtless have noticed that these words sound unreasonable and odd. whatever age he may be or occupation he may have, a person who puts forward such claims obviously fails to think clearly and has mistaken ideas. surprisingly, one frequently comes across people who believe in such irrational notions. since even the simplest machine has a designer, a complex system like man could not have come into existence by chance. there is no doubt that allah created the first human being. allah also created the systems within the body of the first man to enable reproduction and the appearance of succeeding generations. allah ensured the human race would continue by means of a programme inserted in its cells. we also came into existence thanks to this programme created by allah, and continue to grow up in line with it. what you read about this subject in the following pages will enable you to attain a better understanding of the fact that allah, our creator, possesses infinite power and wisdom.